BackPolitics of divisiveness can be overtaken by politics of work: Atishi
The biggest takeaway is that people are voting on the basis of the work being donePriority areas for the new government will include water, which we have been talking about
PremiumSenior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi won the recent assembly elections in Delhi by a margin of more than 11,000 votes from Kalkaji constituency in South Delhi. In 2019, she unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi. While she has worked as an adviser with the education department of the government, this would be her first term as an elected representative. As chief minister Arvind Kejriwal took oath for a third term on Sunday, Atishi who is a member of political affairs committee of the AAP, spoke about the agenda of the new government, biggest takeaways from the Delhi assembly elections and the party’s future plans. Edited excerpts from an interview:
Congratulations on your win. AAP is set to form the government for a third term. What are your biggest takeaways from AAP’s sweep in Delhi?
The biggest takeaway is that people are voting on the basis of the work being done. There were women across constituencies telling us that how can we not vote for Arvind Kejriwal. They said that they cannot betray him by not voting because he had done so much for them. There has been an impact of everything—electricity, water, schools and you can see it very tangibly touch people’s lives. That is the biggest takeaway. In our democracy, we have often believed that money, liquor, caste equations are factors that mattered but this has been the biggest takeaway.
The previous term of AAP saw the government focus on water, electricity, education and health. What are the priority areas for the new government going to be? What according to you is the way forward in this term?
Priority areas for the new government will include water, which we have been talking about. We have given 24X7 electricity, we will now work towards giving 24 hours of water supply. This will be a major focus area. Improving public transport will be another major focus area. Linked to that is going to be reducing pollution. In education, this term, higher education will be a focus area. There were two new universities announced. Taking higher education forward, in terms of innovation and scale that up.
Your constituency —Kalkaji—constituency accounts for approximately 200,000 voters which include residents of slum colonies, low-income areas, long-term Punjabi residents and migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. What are your plans for it?
There are a lot of low-income segments and slum colonies here in Kalkaji. While a lot of work has been done in various parts, there is still a lot of need for basic facilities, especially water and sewerage. That is going to be a priority area. Govindpuri area needs a re-design in sewerage system. Every time there is a problem, it is fixed, but this needs a fundamental overhaul of systems. Traffic management and parking are a huge problem here. This is a long-term problem because this requires liaisoning with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Delhi is a special state wherein certain matters come under the central government. The first full term of the government saw run-ins between the state government and local authorities such as the DDA and MCD. Does the government plan to do anything differently?
By the end of the first full term, we became quite good at it. We should be able to do well in this tenure. Another thing that has changed is that the AAP is not just a flash in the pan. Everyone knows that we are here to stay. I don’t think in the history of India we would have seen a government come in with such a massive mandate and then come back again with an equally strong mandate. We often talk about anti-incumbency, this is strong pro-incumbency. A lot of post-poll surveys are showing that no CM has seen such approval ratings.
You had contested Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi last year. How was it different this time to contest an assembly election in such a short period of time?
That was 10 times the size of an assembly constituency; so this was far more manageable. You could cover the entire constituency in a period of two days which made it much easier. Second, in the Lok Sabha elections, people wanted to know who the prime ministerial face is, but in this election, people wanted to know who the CM face is. This time, we had a stronger edge. In the Lok Sabha elections, people were very emotionally attached to us. They didn’t see us a viable option for the parliamentary election. There was a lot of goodwill wherever we had gone, but that did not translate into votes because people wanted to know who the prime minister will be if they voted for us and for that, we also did not have a very clear answer.
The Lok Sabha elections which were nine months back saw the BJP win all seven seats from Delhi. How did the party remould itself for the assembly election?
Even in the Lok Sabha elections, there was a lot of goodwill for us. The rallies that Arvind Kejriwal held had massive turnout and support. People are crazy about Arvind Kejriwal. Some rallies people were standing on their chairs. People did not have an answer to the PM face question. That was the big difference between the two elections. Otherwise, our strategy is the same. We go to people, hold door-to-door campaigns. We go to the ground. Since Lok Sabha elections, we have been on the ground through public meetings, booth meetings by members of legislative assembly (MLAs).
While the campaign strategy may be the same, there has been a strategic shift by the government from being confrontational to focusing on work. How did that come about?
If you were to see, this non-confrontational issue is related with… Why was there confrontation? That was because of a lack of clarity over who has what powers? After the Supreme Court (constitutional bench) order which clarifies that the aid and advice of the cabinet is binding on the L-G (lieutenant-governor). After that, there is no confrontation because it is very clear as to what powers we have. After that (SC order) we soon went into Lok Sabha elections and model code of conduct was put in place, so you began to see it only after the Lok Sabha elections. Services still stays as a point of conflict but at least, there is clarity that whatever decision is taken by the cabinet has to be implemented. That is one of the most important things. Personally, I feel like when the SC order finally comes, services is also bound to come as a part of the elected government. Sooner or later, there will be clarity.
This campaign in Delhi was one of the bitterest campaigns. Do you see the results as a referendum on it?
Absolutely. It is a referendum on the fact that politics of hate vs work, politics of divisiveness does not work. Post-poll surveys are showing that while the kind of campaign that was run may have raised emotions, but it did not impact the voter. That is a crucial and heart-warming sign that the politics of divisiveness can be overtaken by the politics of real work done.
What is the party’s expansion plans to other states? With this election, the AAP has established itself in Delhi.
The focus is very much on Delhi. The people of Delhi have elected us with a very strong mandate so the first priority will be Delhi and the work that we are doing here. The biggest expansion and that is not just in terms of the party but of the idea that work can win elections. This will have an impact, not just on AAP units in other states but also on other political parties as well. Right now, if people in other parties talk about schools and manifestos, they are asked to focus on the manifesto. Winnable politics is considered the politics of money power, muscle power, caste equation, religious polarization but once it has shown that work can win elections, it is bound to have an impact on other parties.
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